TNT Election Edition: To the Victor Go the Spoils

türkçe links to original Turkish article

(Sözcü Newspaper, 11 April 2019)


                                  Other duties as assigned...

In Mucur district of Kırşehir province, following objections to the
outcome of the 31 March mayoral election, a dispute arose between
the AKP (ruling party) and MHP (nationalist party supposedly
allied with AKP for these elections) parties.  In the election in Mucur
AKP's Atılgan Yılmaz won by 53 votes but his first action raised
eyebrows.

Yılmaz ordered that two people hired by the municipality during
the previous MHP tenure be sent out onto the Ankara-Kayseri highway
to count cars (!) and determine whether some buses were unloading
passengers on the road instead of at the bus terminal.  A similar edict
was issued in Çiçekdağ district, where new AKP mayor Hasan
Hakanoğlu assigned an association director from the preceding MHP
period and other personnel to collect garbage.

MHP Mucur Chief Ali Rıza Budak admitted that there had been
problems with Yılmaz during the campaign, noting that "contract
workers have been posted on the highway.  I had said that this
person (Yılmaz) would give us problems. I'm going to report it!"
Similarly, MHP Provincial Chief Arif Kılıç promised to look into
the matter and inform the proper authorities.